Second permanent GP practice opens in Katherine, following doctor crisis
A SECOND permanent GP practice has opened in Katherine, joining a clinic that opened a fortnight ago to end a months-long doctor crisis in the NT’s fourth largest town.
Northern Territory
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A SECOND permanent GP practice has opened in Katherine, joining a clinic that opened a fortnight ago to end a months-long doctor crisis in the NT’s fourth largest town.
Katherine Family Medical Practice, at 1/54 Katherine Terrace, opened yesterday, several weeks after starting to take bookings.
It comes just two weeks after another GP practice, Bauhinia Health opened in Katherine, ending a five-month period in which most of the town’s 10,000 residents were unable to see a doctor at an established local clinic following the closure of Gorge Health last year.
Practice manager Melanie Usher said the new clinic had experienced high demand for bookings before its doors had even opened.
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She said the clinic’s doctor had been almost fully booked yesterday and the nurse had also received some bookings.
“Even though we haven’t advertised, we have still got bookings coming in,” she said.
Katherine Family Medical Practice, which has been started by five local families, has opened with one locum GP, a nurse practitioner and a nurse, and will gain one full-time doctor and one part-time doctor in the next few months.
It is expected to eventually ramp up to four doctors.
The practice will offer GP care, GP management plans, nurse practitioner services, telehealth, women’s health, pre-employment and insurance medicals and referrals for pathology and imaging.
Its premises, which have been converted from an old Subway shop, feature four consult rooms and a treatment room with ambulance access.
Ms Usher said she hoped the practice would provide a long-term sustainable GP service for Katherine and its surrounds.
“Obviously there’s another clinic open now, which is really good for Katherine, and I’m really hoping that between the two of us we will actually be able to fill our rooms with doctors, and fill that need,” she said.
“Katherine’s meant to have something like 9.1 doctors, for our population and surrounding areas, so I think between us we might actually be able to do that.”
NT Senator Sam McMahon, who formally opened the practice on Friday, congratulated everyone involved in launching the new clinic.
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“I am thrilled that a second private clinic has opened in Katherine which means residents will be able to access the health care they need when they need it, rather than having to travel hours to Darwin or other locations for what could be lifesaving treatment,” she said.
Katherine Town Council Mayor Lis Clark, who also attended the clinic’s opening, said the new practice would be a “wonderful boost” for the town.
“It’s wonderful businesses have taken it on board themselves to put the funding in to open this clinic, and I think it shows how much people are really passionate about Katherine,” she said.
Originally published as Second permanent GP practice opens in Katherine, following doctor crisis
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